Records show that when the DNR got two anonymous tips that the shelter was harboring a baby deer, a warden dressed in camouflage and hid there for several hours over two days until he spotted the fawn by the barn.

Proof of a fawn at the shelter triggered a series of administration actions and approvals from Kenosha County all the way to the DNR's top office in Madison, though it's impossible to tell exactly who at DNR was involved, the department said it blacked out every employee name because of strong and threatening public reaction.

But WISN 12 News followed the paper trail, which started at the office of Kenosha County District Attorney Bob Zapf, which helped the DNR prepare the request for the warrant.

Zapf referred WISN 12 News investigative reporter Colleen Henry to a subordinate who was unavailable, but DNR records show the District Attorney's Office required an OK from the DNR Secretary's Office in Madison.

Secretary Cathy Stepp oversees the DNR. WISN 12 News went to her Madison office, but additional inquiries were "reviewed and declined."

The only person willing to answer WISN 12 News' questions was Kenosha County Judge Jason Rossell.

"We want to talk to you about this search warrant that you signed," Henry said.Rossell signed the warrant that allowed the 13 agents to search the shelter for Giggles.

"I assume you read these before you sign them," Henry said.

"Yeah, I read the whole thing," Rossell said.

"Did you think? Did you make a phone call first? Do you need to send 14 guys out?" Henry asked.

"It's not my job as a judge to tell the police force how to execute a warrant," Rossell said.

After WISN 12 News first reported the raid, the DNR posted a statement on its Facebook page calling the operation a "difficult and emotional job" that "none of our staff take joy in," but emails between DNR employees suggest something else.

On July 15, DNR video documented members of the team of 13 searching the St. Francis property. Agents located Giggles in the barn, where the warden first spotted her. They turned off the cameras before injecting her with a sedative.

DNR records said agents then took Giggles to a nearby state park, and shot her with a bolt gun.

It's a common practice for those who work with wildlife and farm animals but disturbing to others.

"And then they get on TV and say they humanely euthanized her?" St. Francis owner Cindy Schultz said.

The news stunned the shelter owner and SHARK.

"She was 20 pounds, and we assumed they put her down the way you would a pet, the way a veterinarian would humanely euthanize it," Kobliska said.

Even more stunning, they said, was the series of congratulatory emails that followed: "Another successful capture of an illegally possessed deer." There was a smiley face in reply.

The writer boasts, "No arrests, no issues, no injuries… outstanding job!!!!" It's unclear who's congratulating whom because of the blacked out names.

"I wouldn't want my name on this, would you?" Schultz asked.

Ironically, Schultz's name and phone number were released in the records.

"From what I read in their statements, you brought this upon yourself," Henry said.

"How?" Schultz asked.

One DNR employee writes of the shelter, "They hate the DNR." Another said the tipster who reported Giggles said shelter staff may try to hide her.

"They never called. They never did anything in advance to say 'Do you have a baby deer on the property? We need to come out. We need to advise you you can't have him there.' I would have told them, he's going to a rescue," Schultz said.

Thursday morning, the DNR issued a statement saying it had to enforce the law: "Once again, our wardens followed the law and department policy that was in place at the time. We are thankful that the Natural Resources Board granted some additional flexibility with changes to DNR policies that will provide additional options to consider in future situations."

Schultz and SHARK are speaking out to make sure this never happens again.

"I think people are generally disgusted, the waste of money, the vast boondoggle this whole thing was, and on top of that, the cruelty of killing this deer with a bolt gun," Kobliska said.

The DNR said the cost of the operation was about $2,500. There were no overtime costs incurred.

Since WISN 12 News' investigation, the governor asked the DNR to change its policies. Wardens will be allowed to return captured wild animals to the areas they came from, and the DNR will now allow licensed wildlife rehabbers to care for abandoned wildlife.

The DNR has taken some heat from the public over this.

In addition to the planning behind the raid at the shelter, the email conversations described how staff planned to manage the media if questions arose.

The reports also include the outpouring of criticism from writers across the country. One staffer said the Giggles controversy sparked more backlash than the DNR's controversial wolf hunt program.

The DNR said some email writers threatened DNR workers.

The DNR said it blacked out all its employee information for their safety. They said they received 45 death threats, and the department had to move the warden interviewed back in July out of her home for several days for her protection.

WISN 12 News has requested copies of those death threats, but the state said they remain under investigation by Capitol police and won't be available until that case is closed.

The basic public policy is wildlife should be protected for the benefit of everyone not any one person or organization.

The DNR is trying to protect the state's herd from chronic wasting disease, which is a problem in parts of Wisconsin. The concern is moving a deer from one location to another could cause the disease

Since WISN 12 News story, the DNR plans to return deer to areas where the disease is already present so as to limit its spread, but its proposal to allow private individuals to keep deer if they get a license, pay fees and work with a veterinarian met strong opposition from the Department of Natural resources Board.

The DNR's spokesman said that means there's still the chance there may be more situations like Giggles'.

A 12 NEWS INVESTIGATION ABOUT AN ANIMAL RAID IN KENOSHA SPARKED NATIONAL OUTRAGE. TONIGHT -- 12 NEWS REVEALS THE CHAIN OF COMMAND THAT AUTHORIZED 13 ARMED AGENTS TO HUNT FOR A FAWN. COLLEEN HENRY JOINS US. COLLEEN...THE DETAILS COME FROM THE GOVERNMENT'S OWN RECORDS. HUNDREDS OF PAGES OF EMAILS AND DOCUMENTS THAT DETAIL THE PLANNING FOR A RAID TO CAPTURE AND KILL A 20-POUND DEER KNOWN AS GIGGLES. WISCONSIN LAW FORBIDS THE POSSESSION OF WILDLIFE - BUT MANY WERE STUNNED BY THE D-N-R'S RESPONSE TO THE BABY DEER. SHE WAS A WHITE-TAILED FAWN, ABANDONED BY HER MOTHER, AND, TO WISCONSIN'S DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES, AN OUTLAW. 9 DNR AGENTS AND 4 DEPUTY SHERIFFS AND THEY WERE ALL ARMED TO THE TEETH IN JULY, RAY SCHULZE WAS WORKING IN THE BARN AT THE SOCIETY OF ST. FRANCIS NO-KILL SHELTER WHEN A SWARM OF ARMED AGENTS ARRIVED WITH A WARRANT FOR THE FAWN HE NAMED GIGGLES WHEN IT MADE A LITTLE NOISE, IT SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS LAUGHING GIGGLES' DEATH OUTRAGED THE ANIMAL WELFARE GROUP SHARK - SHOWING ANIMALS RESPECT AND KINDNESS. IT SOUNDED LIKE A FULL-BLOWN RAID, GOING TO GET OSAMA BIN LADEN 52 LIKE 12 NEWS', SHARK REQUESTED RECORDS RELATED TO THE GIGGLES RAID... THE DNR DETAILED THE OPERATION IN A REAM OF HEAVILY-REDACTED DOCUMENTS. RECORDS SHOW THAT WHEN THE DNR GOT 2 ANONYMOUS TIPS THE SHELTER WAS HARBORING A BABY DEER HERE, A WARDEN DRESSED IN CAMOFLAGE...AND HID HERE FOR SEVERAL HOURS OVER TWO DAYS TILL HE SPOTTED THE FAWN OVER THERE BY THE BARN. PROOF OF A FAWN AT THE SHELTER TRIGGERED A SERIES OF ADMINISTRATION ACTIONS AND APPROVALSFROM KENOSHA COUNTY ALL THE WAY TO THE DNR'S TOP OFFICE IN MADISON, THOUGH IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL EXACTLY WHO AT DNR WAS INVOLVED - THE DEPARTMENT SAYS IT BLACKED OUT EVERY EMPLOYEE NAME - BECAUSE OF STRONG AND THREATENING PUBLIC REACTION. COLLEEN: WE'RE FROM CHANNEL 12 BUT 12 NEWS FOLLOWED THE PAPER TRAIL - WHICH STARTED AT THE OFFICE OF KENOSHA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY BOB ZAPF, WHICH HELPED THE DNR PREPARE THE REQUEST FOR THE WARRANT. SHE SAID GIGGLES THE DEER ZAPF REFERRED US TO A SUBORDINATE WHO WAS UNAVAILABLEBUT DNR RECORDS SHOW THE DA'S OFFICE REQUIRED AN OK FROM THE DNR SECRETARY'S OFFICE IN MADISON. WE ARE HERE TO SEE SECRETARY STEPP SECRETARY CATHY STEPP OVERSEES THE DNR - 12 NEWS WENT TO HER MADISON OFFICE. IF YOU WANT TO CALL AND SET UP AN APPOINTMENT WITH HER BUT ADDITIONAL INQUIRIES WERE "REVIEWED AND DECLINED." THE ONLY PERSON WILLING TO ANSWER 12 NEWS' QUESTIONSWAS KENOSHA COUNTY JUDGE JASON ROSSELL WE WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS SEARCH WARRANT THAT YOU SIGNED ROSSELL SIGNED THE WARRANT THAT ALLOWED THE 13 AGENTS TO SEARCH THE SHELTER FOR GIGGLES. COLLEEN: I ASSUME YOU READ THESE BEFORE YOU SIGN THEM, JUDGE JASON ROSSELL: YEAH, I READ THE WHOLE THING. DID YOU THINK, DID YOU MAKE A PHONE CALL FIRST, DO YOU NEED TO SEND 14 GUYS OUT IT'S NOT MY JOB AS A JUDGE TO TELL THE POLICE FORCE HOW TO EXECUTE A WARRANT AFTER 12 NEWS FIRST REPORTED THE RAID, THE DNR POSTED A STATEMENT ON ITS FACEBOOK PAGE CALLING THE OPERATION A "DIFFICULT AND EMOTIONAL JOB" THAT "NONE OF OUR STAFF TAKE JOY IN," BUT EMAILS BETWEEN DNR EMPLOYEES SUGGEST SOMETHING ELSE. ONE DNR EMPLOYEE WROTE - I LOOK FORWARD TO THE EVENT - TWO EXCLAMATION POINTS. ANOTHER I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT TOO - WITH A SMILEY FACE. NATS DNR VIDEO ON JULY 15TH, DNR VIDEO DOCUMENTED MEMBERS OF THE TEAM OF 13 SEARCHING THE ST. FRANCIS PROPERTY. AGENTS LOCATED GIGGLES IN THE BARN WHERE THE WARDEN FIRST SPOTTED HER. THEY TURNED OFF THE CAMERAS BEFORE INJECTING HER WITH A SEDATIVE. DNR RECORDS SAY AGENTS THEN TOOK GIGGLES TO A NEARBY STATE PARK, AND SHOT HER WITH A BOLT GUN-- IT'S A COMMON PRACTICE FOR THOSE WHO WORK WITH WILDLIFE AND FARM ANIMALS....BUT DISTURBING TO OTHERS. AND THEN THEY GET ON TV AND SAY THEY HUMANELY EUTHANIZED HER? THE NEWS STUNNED THE SHELTER OWNER AND SHARK. SHE WAS 20 POUNDS AND WE ASSUMED THEY PUT HER DOWN THE WAY YOU WOULD A PET, THE WAY A VETERINARIAN WOULD HUMANELY EUTHANIZE IT EVEN MORE STUNNING, THEY SAY, WAS THE SERIES OF CONGRATULATORY EMAILS THAT FOLLOWEDQUOTE - "ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL CAPTURE OF AN ILLEGALLY POSSESSED DEER" - A SMILEY FACE IN REPLY. THE WRITER BOASTS "NO ARRESTS, NO ISSUES, NO INJURIES ....."OUTSTANDING JOB!!!" - UNDERLINED - WITH FOUR EXCLAMATION POINTS. IT'S UNCLEAR WHO'S CONGRATULATING WHOM BECAUSE OF THE BLACKED OUT NAMES. I WOULDN'T WANT MY NAME ON THIS, WOULD YOU? IRONICALLY, SHELTER OWNER CINDY SCHULTZ'S NAME AND PHONE NUMBER WERE RELEASED IN THE RECORDS. COLLEEN: FROM WHAT I READ IN THEIR STATEMENTS, YOU BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF. CINDY: HOW? ONE DNR EMPLOYEE WRITES OF THE SHELTER - "THEY HATE THE DNR" - ANOTHER SAYS THE TIPSTER WHO REPORTED GIGGLES SAID SHELTER STAFF MAY TRY TO HIDE HER. THEY NEVER CALLED, THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING IN ADVANCE TO SAY DO YOU HAVE A BABY DEER ON THE PROPERTY, WE NEED TO COME OUT, WE NEED TO ADVISE YOU YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM THEREI WOULD HAVE TOLD THEM, HE'S GOING TO A RESCUE JUST THIS MORNING-- THE D-N-R ISSUED A STATEMENT SAYING IT HAD TO ENFORCE THE LAW. "ONCE AGAIN OUR WARDENS FOLLOWED THE LAW AND DEPARTMENT POLICY THAT WAS IN PLACE AT THE TIME. WE ARE THANKFUL THAT THE NATURAL RESOURCES BOARD GRANTED SOME ADDITIONAL FLEXIBILITY WITH CHANGES TO DNR POLICIES THAT WILL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL OPTIONS TO CONSIDER IN FUTURE SITUATIONS." SCHULTZ AND SHARK ARE SPEAKING OUT TO MAKE SURE THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. I THINK PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY DISGUSTED, THE WASTE OF MONEY, THE VAST BOONDOGGLE THIS WHOLE THING WAS AND ON TOP OF THAT, THE CRUELTY OF KILLING THIS DEER WITH A BOLT GUN THE DNR SAYS THE COST OF THE OPERATION WAS AROUND $2500... THERE WERE NO OVERTIME COSTS INCURRED. 12 NEWS' INVESTIGATION SPARKED CHANGES... YES...THE GOVERNOR ASKED THE D-N-R TO CHANGE ITS POLICIES...WARDENS WILL BE ALLOWED TO RETURN CAPTURED WILD ANIMALS TO THE AREAS THEY CAME FROM...AND THE DNR WILL NOW ALLOW LICENSED WILDLIFE REHABBERS TO CARE FOR ABANDONED WILDLIFE... THE D-N-R HAS TAKEN

Hillary Clinton's office said "nothing nefarious was at play" when the former secretary of state used her personal email address, rather than one provided by the State Department, during her four years as America's top diplomat.